Dementia has become the leading cause of death in Australia, a development that has prompted public health experts to call for a “shift in thinking” about the disease.
An estimated 446,500 people in the country are living with the disease as of 2026, according to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The neurological condition caused about 1,200 more deaths than heart disease in 2024, making it the leading cause of death. In the two years since, it has caused one in every 10 deaths.
Even though in many cases deaths were attributed to other more immediate conditions like pneumonia or cardiac arrest, doctors in such cases list dementia as an underlying cause.
In a letter published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, a leading expert warned that “without significant intervention”, the number of people living with dementia was expected to increase to more than one million by 2065.
“Dementia is not an inevitable disease of old age,” wrote Dr Tanya Buchanan, chief of Dementia Australia, the national body providing information on the condition in the country.
“Whilst we cannot change getting older, genetics or family history, there are things we can do to reduce our risk of dementia,” she said.
Researchers say this is a common misconception about the debilitating neurological condition: a 2024 survey found that more than a quarter of Australians incorrectly believed there was nothing they could do to reduce their risk of dementia.
“In Australia, 43 per cent of dementia burden is attributable to six modifiable risk factors that we want all Australians to be aware of – tobacco use, overweight and obesity, physical inactivity, high blood pressure in midlife, high blood plasma glucose and impaired kidney function,” Dr Buchanan said.
“There are clear things that we can do to reduce the number of Australians diagnosed with dementia in the future, such as promoting prevention and addressing risk factors from childhood right through to older age. We also need a focus on early detection and intervention.”
Researchers called on the federal government to fund a national brain health campaign and shift its health strategies across the country.
“Australians have come to understand that many cases of cancer and heart disease are preventable,” said professor Terry Slevin, chief of the Public Health Association of Australia.
“We now need a similar shift in our thinking on dementia to focus more on prevention. Right now, we are seeing the burden of dementia growing, placing increasing pressure on the Australian healthcare system.”
Estimates suggest that about two in five dementia cases in the country can be prevented.
“Most of the things that help our physical health will also reduce risk of dementia,” Dr Slevin said. “There’s currently no cure for dementia, so prevention and early intervention are the best options we have.”
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